Why the Queen is pinning her hopes on Prince William's Australia trip

Buckingham Palace will have high hopes of a warm public reaction to Prince
William on his first official overseas tour on behalf of the Queen. It is
likely to be the first of many more solo engagements.

Prince William: Prince William, second in line to the throne, will be in Auckland and Wellington from January 17 to 19 before travelling to Australia for a three day unofficial visit Photo: GETTY

Officially, Buckingham Palace will not even countenance that the Queen, at 83, and the Duke of Edinburgh, at 88, are contemplating a reduction in their workload.

But the Prince of Wales has already taken over some of those gruelling investitures when the Queen is on her feet for the best part of a day.

The trip to the most far flung outreach of the Queen’s realm is another sign that Prince William, who has at least four more years in the RAF as a search and rescue pilot, is stepping up his preparations for when he takes centre stage in The Firm. He already has a private office at St James’s Palace with Prince Harry.

The Prince of Wales, already the longest serving king-in-waiting in British history, is resigned to the fact that his son and heir will inevitably overshadow him as the glamorous future of Royal Family.

His son has inherited the good looks of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales which explains some of the huge media interest in next January’s trip Down Under.

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There were statements from both the New Zealand and Australian Prime Ministers about the Prince William visit. By contrast, the reaction to the visit to Canada next week of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall could not be more marked.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation launched its revamped breakfast programme with leaked private research conducted by friends of the Royal Family in Canada which showed that two thirds thought the Prince of Wales was out of touch.

Another poll over the weekend in Canada showed that the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are the least popular members of the Royal Family.

The Queen was top on 65 per cent, Prince William next on 64 per cent, Prince Harry thrid with 57 per cent, then the Duke of Edinburgh on 42 per cent but the Prince of Wales trailed with 34 per cent. The Duchess of Cornwall scored only 18 per cent compared to 25 per cent for Kate Middleton, Prince William’s long-term girlfriend.